Open Up Your World

Tourism Has Rebounded Worldwide. But Not in Hong Kong.
In 2018, Hong Kong received a record 65 million tourists. In 2023, it welcomed a little more than half that.

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An urban, waterfront landscape at sunset shows brightly lit, massive skyscrapers looking over a marina and a waterside highway bustling with vehicles.
The rebound of international travel to Hong Kong continues to lag far behind the tourist activity reported at most other Asian destinations. Credit…Anthony Kwan for The New York Times
Christine Chung
By Christine Chung

Oct. 11, 2024
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Airline ticket giveaways, elaborate drone and pyrotechnic shows, and invitations to thousands of influencers to visit and “tell a good story.” These are among the wide-ranging ways Hong Kong has tried to revive its international tourism industry, a crucial economic driver battered by years of pandemic restrictions and political upheaval.

It hasn’t been working that well.

Despite these efforts, for which the Hong Kong government budgeted roughly $129 million this year, the rebound of international travel to the city continues to lag far behind the tourist activity reported at most other Asian destinations. Thailand, South Korea and Japan are reporting visitor numbers nearing or surpassing prepandemic levels, as is most of the rest of the world, according to the latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

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Open Up Your World
Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling? Here are some ideas.
52 Places: Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more.

Hanoi, Vietnam: Though affectionately known by some residents as “the world’s biggest village,” the 1,000-year-old Vietnamese capital is a place of boundless energy and entrepreneurial dynamism.

Big Sur: Some 90% of the economy in this coastal California region relies on visitors. But overtourism, the high cost of living and the effects of global warming create a future of uncertainty.

Sedona, Ariz.: On a trip to the desert town, a New Age skeptic tries to understand her mystically inclined mother’s beliefs with the help of crystals, meditation and visits to the area’s supposed celestial portals.

The Berkshires: Take a road trip across this mountainous region of western Massachusetts, popping into breweries, art galleries and pizzerias, as its landscape erupts in autumnal glory.